Door frame



Feb. 23, 1960 K, LEE, JR, mL 2,925,894

DOOR FRAME Filed Dec. 27, 1956 ,3 faim# f Y f 19 Y la Inz/*EnTDJ-'s A27/mfr 55, c/R. LFAJED l. MELL the stresses in shear.

.the plaster wall.

`apertures in the door frame section. nstop strip is of great importance in conjunction with 2,9z5,s94 DooR FRAME Kenneth L. Lee, Jr., Park Ridge, and Alfred L. Mell,

Chicago, lll.

Application December 27, 1956, Serial No. 530,987 3 Claims. (Cl. 189-46) metal construction. The door hinges are secured directly to the heavy metal saddle by metal screws to provide a mounting capable of with standing the tremendous stresses u. exerted by the weight of the door, particularly at the upper hinge.

The stresses set up in use of the door are transmitted by the saddle to the wooden studding by means of nails or other fastening means extending into the studding in a direction generally at right angles to the direction of action of said stresses so as to absorb By the use of metal screws, a saddle of heavy metal constructionr and nails in shear to transmitthe stresses exerted by the door to the wooden studding, a very` rigid mounting is achieved which prevents vibration ofthe door frameand thus insuresthat .the plaster walls associated with the door frame will not be cracked in use'of the door.

The door frame marginal edges which provide a finish for," the plaster wall are preferably freely flexible relative to` the central portion of the door frame which is secured to the saddle so as to furtherlelfectively prevent transmission of stresses resulting from use of the door to In effect the sheet metal door ,frame edges are` in floating relation to the rigid chain of stress `transmitting elements between the door and the wooden studding. v l

-The heavy metal saddle preferably has attachment arms extendingigenerally at right angles to the hinge receiving `body portion thereof for embracing the sides of the in the plane of the doorway. The saddle thus greatly4 facilitates mounting of the door since the saddle itself States Patent 2,925,894 Patented Feb. 23, 1960 ICC prevent rattling of the door in closed position thereof. It is found also that the wooden door strip providesa very advantageous sound deadening function and avoids the metallic sound associated with prior art metal door frames. Further, the wooden strip readilyk accommodates adjustment to different size doors.

It Vis therefore an important object of the present invention to provide a door frame structure which is particularly constructed to prevent cracking of plaster walls in use of the door mounted thereby.

A further important object of the present invention is to provide a door frame structure which provides an extremely rigid mounting for a door and yet Vwhich readily accommodates angular and rectilinear adjustment relative to the wooden studding during installation.

Another important object of the present invention is to provide a metal door frame structure capable of con venient alteration to accommodate warped doors or doors of different thickness and which avoids the metallic sound y normally associated with closure of a door against a accommodates angular adjustment of the door frame structure in plumbing the door-receiving face thereof and accommodate rectilinear adjustment ofthe door frame structure in accordance with the size and configuration of the door to be mounted thereon.

The preferred door frame structure .in accordancel with the present invention further comprises inconjunctio'n l,with the thin sheet metal door frame section, a wooden door stop strip disposed centrally along themdoor frame j section and secured directly to the wooden studding by means of fastening means such as nails extending through The wooden door metal'door frame.

Other objects, features andk advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings. in which:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary somewhat diagrammatic side elevational View illustrating the structure of the present invention as applied to a doorway;

Figure 2 is a fragmentary enlarged horizontal sectional view taken generally along the line II-II of Figure l; Figure 3 `is a fragmentary enlarged perspective view illustrating portions of a door frame structure in accordance with the present invention; and

Figurel 4 is a perspective view illustrating the mounting means of the door frame structure of Figure 3.

' As shown on the drawings:

The present invention is particularly adapted to use in .providing a decorative and functional finish to a doorway and for mounting a door therein. In this case, as illustrated in Figure l, a door 10 is to be mounted by means Aof hinges such as indicated 11 and 12 to provide a closure 'for a doorway or opening `in a side wall 13. Figure 1 illustrates door frame sections 15, 16 and 17 supported by mounting means 20-31 at opposite sides and at the top of the doorway. The mounting means 20 and 23 are-,adapted to rigidly mount the hinges 11 and 12 for the`.door 10, while mounting means 29 may carry a strike plate or the like (not shown).

The mounting means 20L-31 are secured directly and rigidly to the structural framework surrounding the doorway which may include an upright wooden stud 34 as indicated in Figure 2. The term jamb will be used herein to designate the upright structural framing for the doorway, whatever its construction or composition, but

`preferably such jamb structure will provide a vertical end face such as indicated at 34a and planar side attach- `ment faces such as indicated at 3"4b and 34C in Figure 2.

'tion including an intermediate generally planar web portion 15a of width and height generally corresponding to the width and height of the end face 34a of the jamb 34 and curved marginal edge portions 15b and 15e` terminating in edges 15d Yand 15e which provide finishing edges for the walls on opposite sides of the doorway such as indicated at 13 and 37 in Figure 2. rllhe specific con- `figuration of the door frame or casing 15 will of course vary with the nature of the walls vat the respective sides ofthe doorway, and the margin portions 15b and 15C particularly may have any `desired configuration.

The vmounting means 2U-391 may be of generally similar construction and may comprise intermediate body portions lsuch as indicated at 20a in Figures 3 and 4 of substantially planar configuration and angularly .related body portions such as indicated iat Zlib and 20c. As seen in Figure 3 the intermediate body portionkZila is preferably coextensive Ywith the width dimension of the web portion a of the door frame and ts snugly against the `interior surface of the web portion to which it is 4preferably secured at `the time of manufacture as by welding. If desired, the door frame may hlave inturned portions 15fv and 15g at opposite sides of the web portion15a which snugly embrace the opposite side surfaces of the mounting means '20 las seen in Figure 3.

For supporting the door .1li directly fromv the relatively rigid mounting means 20, vthe door frame section 15 is cut away as indicated at 40 in Figure 3 and the web portion a of the mounting means 20 is recessed as indicated at 20d in Figure 4 to receive the hinge leaf 11a with its vouter surface ush with-the outer face of the web portion 11511 as indicatedin Figure 2Q For securing the hinge leaf lila` tothe mounting means 20, the recessed portion 20d of the mounting means is provided with screw retaining apenturesiie which maybe threaded or otherwise constructed to retain 4v'suitalile fastening elements such asmachine screws 4 2 indicated in Figure 2. The screw retaining apertures 20e are'pref-l .'erably formedin locations in recessed portion 20d of .bracket 20 in exact correspondence with the apertures in vhinges 11 and 12 during manufacture of the door frame structure. The door liltmay be recessed to receive the hinge leaf 11b as indicated in Figure 2 so that the inner edge face of the door 10 may lie flush with the exterior surface of the web portion 15a of the door frame if so desired.

As seen in Figure 2, the angularly rel-ated bodyL portions 2Gb and 20c of the mounting means or saddle 20 are spaced and disposed so as to be engageable with the opposite side faces 34!) 'and 34e of the jamb '3;4 in universally slidable relation during mounting of the door kfr ame'on the jamb. Thus, in mounting the door structure, the door frame structure may b e mounted on the To complete the assembly, wooden door stop strips such `as indicated at 50 in Fignre 2 are ladjusted in the desired relation to the adjacent face of the door 10 and are secured in place generally centrally of the web portion 15a by suitable `fastening means such as nails 52 extending through relatively large apertures such as indicated -at 15h in Figure 3, the fastening means 52 being secured in the end face 34a o f the jamb 34. The apertures 15h `are of suflicientlateral extent to accommodate precise adjustment ofv. the edge 5041 in relation to the door 10. It is found that the use of a wooden strip 50 as illustrated in Figure 2 Vis a very substantial improvement over they use of a metal door stop with a metal door frame. A very important advantage xofthis construction resides in the fact that if the door becomes warped, the door strip 50 may be adjusted to accommodate the Warpage in a very simple manner. Further, the strip 50 may vrlpe bowed slightly so that the upper land lower ends thereof engage the door to require a slightly corresponding-bowing of the door `during closure thereof. By this means, rattling of the door in closed position is effectively prevented. The strip 50 may be adjusted to doors of varying width attire Atime of installation to give a much greater ilexibility to the door frame structure of the kpresent invention; further, it has been found that the wooden door strip has aA very important sound deadeningV function and prevents the 'metallic'sound normally associated with closure ofa door against a metal door frame. Since the door stop is not an integral part of the jmetall door frame but is secured'direc'tly to the wooden jarnb independentlyof the door frame, the door stop will :absorb the impact associated with door closure without transmitting any vibration to the metal door frame.

It will be apparent that many modications and variations maybe effected'withoutfdeparting from the scope jarnb 34 and be angularly and rectilinearly adjusted'in y'the doorway so that web portion 15a is exactlyplumb and isat the desired location vertically land laterally of the doorway. When this disposition of the door frame is achieved, suitable fastening means such as nails' 43 maybe driven through apertures such as Zllf and 20g in the saddle member 2 0 and linto the side vattachment faces 34h and 34e of the jamb 34. The door isthereafter readily mounted by means of the hinges 11 and l1'2 as indicated in Figure 1.

It willk be understood that stresses exerted on the door frame structure at the upper and lower hinges due to the weight of the door lltlyare rigidly transmitted to the V,saddle mem-bers 20 and 23 by means of machine screws such as indicated at 4t2 in Figure .2` which provide a rigid metal to metal connection between` the hinges and vthe saddle members. The stresses are transmittedby the heavy saddle members to nails lsuch as inclicated' at.'43 in Figure 2 which extend generally at right angles to the direction of the stresses and which are thus-effective to rigidly absorb the stresses in shear. lt has been found that this rigid chain of stress transmitting elements including the metal screws 42, theheavy .metal saddle of. the novel conceptsiof the present invention.

We claim as our invention:

v1. 'In a door'frar'nefor attachment to a door jamb at a doorway, anelongatedl frame section of sheet configuration for mountingalong said door jamb `to provide a linish piece at a margin ofthe'doorwayymounting means for .said frame ksection comprising a pair of U-shaped v.angle brackets secured to said Vframe section adjacent opposite endsthereof, each'y angle bracket being of relatively rigidmetal material substantially more rigid than said frame 'section and having`y`an v intermediate body portionsecureduto the inner vrside of said frame section and Yhaving angularly 'related' body portions extending laterally yof saidintermediate body portion for overlying respective opposite side face portions of saidjamb in shiftable ,relation ,thereto during monntingof said frame sectio'n, 'said frame section' having'acut-away portion overlyingf'said intermediate body portion of each angle bracket, said intermediate ybody portion of each angle bracket having screw retaining apertures therein in alignment with saidfcutaway portion of said frame section,

and a door hinge for disposition in said frame section i cut-away portion associated witheach angle bracket and having apertures therein1in` exact correspondence with said screw retaining apertures for accommodating rigid Iattachment.of `said hinge to vthe angle bracket. 21A door jamb assemblycomprising a .lamb of rigid vof Vsaid endfacefand extending generally at right angles thereto with a fixed predetermined separation therebetween, a vdoor frame'vse'ction of relatively thin sheet material and of generally channel yshape comprisinga generally planarweb portion of.A width and height generally corresponding to the width and height of said end face of said jarnb..memberlf,at said door opening for providing a finishing coveifor said end face and comprising marginal edge portions for providing finishing edges for .Wall Surtasss .csvsringnh .respective .side .,aftedmet faces of said upright jamb member, a pair of U-shaped angle brackets of rigid metal material substantially more rigid than said sheet material of said door frame section secured to the inner side of said door frame section adjacent the respective opposite ends thereof and each comprising a generally planar intermediate body portion in conforming contacting engagement with said planar web portion of said door frame section and end body portions extending generally at right angles to said intermediate body portion into` overlying parallel relationship to said side attachmentfaces of said jamb, means securing said end body portions of said angle brackets to said side attachment faces of said jamb with said door frame section in precise vertical disposition, said planar web portion of said door frame section being cut away and said intermediate body portions of said angle brackets being indented inwardly to define hinge receiving recesses, said intermediate body portions having screw retaining apertures therein at said hinge receiving recesses, hinge members disposed in said hinge receiving recesses and having screws securing said hinge members in said recesses with the outer face of said hinge members ilush with the outer face of said planar web portion of said door frame section, a door stop of elongated strip material having sound deadening properties extending along the length of said door frame section centrally of the planar web portion thereof, and fastening means secured to said door stop at spaced intervals therealong and extending through said door frame and into anchoring relation to said end face of said jamb.

3. In a door frame structure for attachment to a door jamb at a doorway, an elongated door frame section of non-wood sheet material for mounting along said door jamb to provide a nish piece covering said jamb at a margin of the doorway, means for mounting said frame section in overlying covering relation to said door jamb, a separate Wooden door stop strip overlying a central portion of the length of said frame section in contacting relation thereto, said frame section having aperture means underneath said wooden door stop strip, and fastening elements for extending through said Wooden door stop strip and through said aperture means and into rigid engagement with said door jamb, said aperture means being of substantially greater lateral extent than the cross sectional dimension of the fastening means to accommodate adjustment of said wooden door stop strip laterally relative to said door frame section, and said door stop strip thereby being mounted substantially independently of said door frame section and transmitting door closure forces directly to said door jamb Without substantially disturbing said door frame section.

References Cited in the iile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,685,806 Entenman Oct. 2, 1928 2,043,174 Jacobson June 2, 1936 2,818,947 Goldberg Ian. 7, 1958 FOREIGN PATENTS 3,757 Great Britain Feb. 14, 1911 762,454 France Ian. 22, 1934 

